Blog

Dominick Saponaro is an award-winning artist from Philadelphia, PA working in the illustration field for over ten years. His work has been featured in Spectrum, Expose, ImagineFX, and showcased in numerous galleries and illustration shows. Some clients include publishers of books, video games, and magazines such as Simon & Schuster, Tor Books, Harper Collins, Audible, The Science Fiction Book Club, Applibot, & Solaris Books.

I just received my artist copy of Spectrum 21 in the mail and it is AWESOME! Beutiful pages, large images, wonderful design, a great year in review, and of course TOP NOTCH illustration. While I was sad to see the annual passed down from Cathy and Arnie Fenner it looks to be in great hands with John Flesk from Flesk publishing. Outstanding job John! I am really looking forward to what you have in store for the future.

I am blown away every year by the sheer number of amazing entries that are included, so I am always grateful and consider myself extremely lucky if I get anything in at all. Imagine my surprise when I found out that THREE of my works had been chosen this year. I am honored to say the least!

For those of you that own a copy of the annual my work can be found on pages 181 & 212. You can also check out the pieces that were selected for inclusion on my website at the links below...

Thief of War. My first piece for Irene Gallo and Tor.com. It was so much fun to work on! I'm very happy to see it get some recognition from the art community.

A nice spread of Tor.com illustrations/artists. Left Page: Richard Anderson. Top Right: Me! Bottom Left Right Page: Tran Nguyen. Bottom Right Right Page: Richie Pope.

My Princess of Mars piece and Swashbuckle Dom on the same page. With the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and this, who knew my mug would be getting such recognition this year! :-)

In very good company! Here again with two really awesome pieces by my friend Tyler Jacobson. So thrilled to share the page with this guy! One hell of a painter and definitely one of the nicest guys in the biz.

As I am sure is the case with many artists and genre illustrators of my generation the work of George Lucas such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones has had a profound impact on my life and a substantial influence on my art.

So, As you can imagine, when I received the following message…

"Mr. Lucas saw your piece 'Swashbuckle Dom' in the publication EXPOSÉ 10, and thought it would be an excellent example of digital illustration to showcase..."

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a non-profit organization for arts and cinema education founded by George Lucas. The Museum is currently in its planning stages, and is proposed to open in Chicago in 2018. They are using the website as a way to inform the public about the Museum and kinds of work that will be showcased there.

I am thrilled to be a part. Not only because a childhood hero and major influence took notice of my work but because of the actual museum itself. I have been following its development from the initial press release and the vision of collected works looks to be downright amazing. I can not wait for its opening and am thrilled to be associated with such an awesome mecca of historical illustration, cinema, and art!

Here are some shots from the Society of Illustrators Spectrum exhibit opening reception in New York last month. It was an honor to be included and most definitely a career highlight. Hopefully one of many to come! Be sure to check out this show. It runs until October 18th and is downright incredible.

You can check out my previous post on it here or head on over to the Society's info page here.

Im very excited to share the great news that I will have work in the upcoming Society of Illustrators Spectrum Exhibition this coming Fall.

Approximately only 100 works (spanning all categories and media) were selected from the last five years of published Spectrum annuals for inclusion. The show runs from September 2, 2014 to October 18, 2014 with an opening reception on Friday September 12th at 6:30PM.

I am always thrilled and surprised if and when my work is chosen for inclusion in the published annual each year, but with this being a culmination of the last five I am honored to say the least. A HUGE thank you to the curators Irene Gallo, Greg Manchess, and Arnie & Cathy Fenner.

For more info on the show head on over to the Society's info page here.

Last Friday, August 8th the fine folks over at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society were kind enough to invite me for a lecture/panel on my work, process, and current state of illustration today as it relates to the science fiction & fantasy genre in popular culture.

The lecture took place at U-Penn's historic International House on the main campus in the heart of University City. Some very cool history on the location...

For more than a century, International House Philadelphia has served the scholars of the world and the Greater Philadelphia community by providing engaging residential services and compelling arts and humanities programming, welcoming hundreds of thousands of people through its doors in the process. What began here more than 100 years ago as a belief that international understanding, cooperation, and friendship can develop one person at a time, has emerged as a celebrated world-wide movement.

Moving from the past and into the present, IHP is a thriving hub of activity: a home to hundreds of students and interns throughout the year, a destination for world-class arts and cultural programming, a facility for large-scale events, and a partner with many regional organizations, foundations, institutions, and businesses.

It was quite an eventful night with plenty of great discussion, interesting conversations, and fun had by all. The best part... even a few of my students and recent graduates showed up to hear me speak... Thanks for stopping by guys!

A packed house... I swear the woman in the front is wide awake, just leaning back to get comfortable!

Some of my students that showed up. And in the middle of the Summer too! So awesome.

Opening slide. My Time Roads cover for Tor Books.

I keep telling myself its lens distortion... There is no way my melon is that big. Also note the Awesome Manchess painting on my screen. I believe I was discussing my modern influences here.

And finally a shot from the back of the lecture hall. To the far right... another dedicated student sacrificing their Friday night to show their support!

Update (August 22): I just received word today that the show has been extended! I wasn't given a definitive end date but was told it will run well into the Fall. So if you haven't had the chance... head on over and check it out.

In less than a week I'll be heading out to Kansas City MO for one of the best art and illustration shows of the year!

Join me and 200 artists May 9th, 10th & 11th in Kansas City for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 3. Spectrum is a three-day celebration of the best in fantasy, science fiction, horror, and comics art. You will interact with Traditional medium artists, Digital artists working in the Film, Animation, and Video Game fields, Sculptors, Cover Illustrators, Comics Artists, and more. Additionally, there will opportunities to attend workshops, live painting and sculpting demos, panels, meet art directors, conduct portfolio reviews and attend the Spectrum 21 awards ceremonies. If you enjoy my work and would like to experience a wide variety of what the field of fantastic art has to offer I hope you will meet me in Kansas City, May 9-11, 2014.

I'll be showcasing my work along with some 200 others amazing artists and will also have plenty of prints available for purchase. Stop on by adjacent booths 703 & 602 and say hello. I hope to see you there!

I'm especially excited for my Thief of War piece as it was a commission for a really great tor.com short story by Beth Bernobich of the same title. A huge thank you to Irene Gallo for the opportunity and Art Direction on that one. Being as its such a great little story and featured in Some of the Best From Tor.com I'm so happy to see the illustration get a little bit of recognition from the art community as well.

This news couldn't come at a better time as I have just begun the planning for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live in May. I'm really looking forward to the show this year and can't wait to see everyone! Stop on by and say hello if your at the show. I'll be in adjacent booths 602 & 703. Hope to see you there!

A few shots of my work from the most recent Spectrum 20 & Expose 11 illustration annuals. I was thrilled to have both Destroyermen II (In glorious full page detail!) and Destroyermen III included in Spectrum. Destroyermen III is also featured in Expose as well. A Huge thank you to Matt Kalamidas over at the Science Fiction Book club. This series has been so damn rewarding!

The quality and number of entries seem to grow considerably for both competitions every year so I am simultaneously thrilled and shocked when my work does get in. It's an insane honor to be included with some of the top illustrators working in the field today.

This just reminded me... Call for entries for Spectrum 21 is coming up! 1/25/14!!! Get those entries in people!

Swashbuckle Studio

Dominick Saponaro is an award-winning artist from Philadelphia, PA working in the illustration field for over ten years. His work has been featured in Spectrum, Expose, ImagineFX, and showcased in numerous galleries and illustration shows. Some clients include publishers of books, video games, and magazines such as Simon & Schuster, Tor Books, Harper Collins, Audible, The Science Fiction Book Club, Applibot, & Solaris Books.